Feeding Bristlenose

Feeding Bristlenose Catfish to THRIVE And Not Just Survive

Feeding Bristlenose Catfish for many can be perceived as a pretty straight forward task. After all Bristlenose Catfish are renowned for not being fussy eaters, plus they are just so great at eating algae. Therefore when it comes to selecting an Algae Eater for your fish tank they are often the number one choice.

So in many situations Bristlenose find themselves surviving on the leftovers of other fish, any algae they can forage around the tank and the occasional algae wafer given by their owner. So is this the best diet for your Bristlenose and does it cause health problems that might lead to the demise of your faithful Bristlenose?

Well to start with, you need to be aware that if your Bristlenose are to thrive (and not just survive) they do need to be fed some of their preferred food as well. So if you adopt a policy of not feeding your Bristlenose extra food because they might stop eating the algae in their tank, then you may have a problem, as the end result is your Bristlenose may slowly die from starvation.

So what you do need to know is this, Bristlenose are one of the few Algae Eaters that won’t get tired of cleaning your tank even if you feed them other foods as well. This is why Bristlenose are the best algae eater you can get and are known as Expert Algae Eaters.

Next when it comes to feeding Bristlenose, you need to understand that some types of food can cause problems when fed in excess. Algae wafers are one of the preferred foods for many Bristlenose owners but they can also carry very high proportions of algae. This can cause constipation and bloat. Therefore don’t rely solely on algae wafers to supplement the Bristlenose diet as it can become a problem.

Another area where some owners can get into trouble when feeding their Bristlenose is relying on them too much to mop up the left overs from their other fish. So if the other fish are over fed they think it doesn’t matter as their Bristlenose will just clean up the left overs. This can be a problem as well, especially if the other fish are fed meat based foods. Bristlenose will gladly eat all the meat based leftovers they can find but if given too much, constipation and bloat can once again be the end result.

Therefore don’t feed your Bristlenose too much protein. A little is ok but make sure most of their diet is made up of vegetables and plant based foods.

Blanched vegetables is one of the best options when it comes to feeding Bristlenose. Blanched zucchini is a favourite but I’ve found it can mess up the water quite a bit. The best foods I’ve found for feeding Bristlenose Catfish are blanched carrots and broccoli stems that are cut into slithers. Neither of these becomes overly soft when submerged and my Bristlenose really seem to like them as well.

So these are the basics for feeding Bristlenose. If you’d like to find out other important factors for feeding Bristlenose, such as how to recognise and treat bloat then it is all in Douglas Green’s Bristlenose Reference, Keeping and Breeding Bristlenose.

I bought his eBook when I first got serious about keeping Bristlenose and have found it to be an invaluable reference.